Improvement-in buttons



UNITED STATES PHILIP WILLIAM GENGEMBRE,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUTTONS.

Sg eciieation forming part of Letters Patent No. l M292, dated January19, 1864.

.To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILIP WILLIAM GEN- GEMBRE, a resident of Boston, inthe county of Suffolk and State of llIassachusetts, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Buttons; and I do hereby declare the same tobe fully described in the following specilication and represented in theaccompanying drawings, of which- Figure l denotes a section of a pieceof cloth, with a button constructed and fastened to it in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 denotes a front side view ot' the back plateof the button, the drawings being made on an enlarged scale, so as tofully exhibit the said invention, the nature of which consists in abutton as provided with a locking-catch and plate anda tubular spring,the whole being constructed and arranged in manner and so as to operatesubstantially as hereinafter cX- plained.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, A denotes the body of an army button, thesaid body being formed of two plates or disks, a b, the outer ot' whichis concave-convex and confined to the other at its edges in the usual orany suitable manner.

B represents a piece of cloth, to which the said button is fastened bymyimproved means, which, although afordin g great security of the buttonto the cloth under all ordinary circumstances and preventing wear of thebutton-hole, yet renders the.button readily detachable from the cloth orgarment, or of easy application thereto, as circumstances may require.

C is a catch, whose shank c terminates at its rear end in a head, d, andat itsfront in a triangular projection or foot, e, or the mechanicalequivalent thereof, formed as shown in Fig. 1. The shanke is surroundedby a tubular spring, D, composed of vulcanized indiarubber, the saidspring being disposed between the cloth B and the back plate, b, of theb Itton, and operating so as not only to draw the head d closely up tothe cloth, but to press the body of the button in a direction away fromthc cloth. rlhe plate b is provided with an aperture, f, for the part eto be passed through; and, furthermore, it has a groove or recess, g,arranged so as to cross the aperture at or about at right angles to it.

After the triangular foot e may have been passed through the apertureot' the buttonhole plate b, the catch C should not only be pressedfirmly toward the button, so as to contract the spring D, but berevolved through an angle of ninety degrees, so as to enable the part e,when the catch may be relieved from the pressure ot' the hand, to slipor be 1 drawn back into the recess or groove g, in which case the saidgroove or recess and the spring will so co-operate as not only toconnect the button-body and the catch together, but conline the buttonto the cloth or garment.

In ord'er to Vremove the button from the cloth or garment it Will firstbe necessary to press the button-body A back upon the spring and catchand turn the body on the catch, so as to allow the spring to operateinsuch manner as to draw the catch out of the button, after which thecatch may be drawn out of the spring and the cloth.

An equivalent for my invention would be to extend the shank, with itshead e directly from the plate b, as it is from the head d, and to Inakethe said head d with such a slot and recess for the reception of theshank c and foot e, as hereinbefore described, as formed in the plateb.-

What I claim as my invention is The combination of the tubular spring Dwith the button-body A, and a locking-catch or mechanism, made andapplied to the button substantially in the manner and so as to operateas specified.

P. W. GENGEMBRE.

Vitnesses R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr.

